Farewell, Spartan Race Gladiators

I remember my very first Spartan Race back in 2011 (recap here). Besides falling into the fire (again) my biggest fear was facing the gladiators at the end of the race with the pugil sticks. Mainly because I spent a good 30 minutes before my wave watching them try to beat the living crap out of the elite heat. Like so:

(don’t bother with the sound, I’m not quite sure what’s going on in that voiceover)

I couldn’t believe such a thing existed in a race, never mind the fact that I had willingly signed up for such nonsense. But when the time came to face these “warriors” at the end of the race, two things worked to my advantage:

1) I sacrificed my best friend Hope and threw her in front of the Gladiators

“With your shield or on it…or use your friend as a shield”

2) By that point in the day, the boys were less than enthusiastic about their volunteer duties and there wasn’t a huge crowd of spectators cheering them on, so they barely tapped us as we went by.

Cheeeese! At least I was thrilled to be there.

But regardless, the gladiators were indeed the “icing” on my Spartan race cake experience that left me feeling a massive adrenaline rush while crossing the finish line, instead of the typical exhausted relief. An amazing, “I kicked ass” high that couldn’t be rivaled by traditional racing.

I have since faced the Gladiators numerous times. Solo, with a partner, in the mud, in stadiums, and even with a team of dozens of other athletes (Hurricane Heat).

Ever so (not) gracefully running a wide path around the gladiators. The goofy grin is the thrill of finally being finished. Spartan World Championships (VT Beast) 2013

Taking one for the team so Geoff can film the whole ordeal…

And truth be told, the Gladiators were rarely ever as aggressive as they are in that video…unless of course you tried to fight back.

“Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself” – Geoff

The Gladiators have become an iconic part of the Spartan Race series; the last “battle” before crossing the finish line and earning your coveted medal. But on April 2nd, Spartan Race shocked its fan base with the announcement that in their pursuit to become an Olympic Sport, they would be cutting the gladiators from the race, who made their final appearance at the Charlotte NC sprint just a few weeks prior. We all hoped it was a late April fools joke, but a few days later, it appears that this announcement was indeed legitimate.

It has been no secret that the Spartan Race founders have the ultimate goal of bringing competitive obstacle course racing to the Olympic level. According to founder Joe De Sena, in order to move forward with this goal, every obstacle within a Spartan Race must be athletic in nature. (see more quotes from Joe in The Gladiator is Dead; Long Live the Gladiator!) Obviously battling a (often volunteer) Gladiator can be somewhat subjective, though technically, the timing mat for the finishing line has always been placed BEFORE the gladiators. I suppose some may feel the Gladiators are somewhat gimmicky, and ultimately may not add to the credibility or legitimacy of the sport.

And of course, though not publicly discussed (at least not by SR), I’m certain there’s some sort of insurance/liability issue in allowing random volunteers to beat racers up with a giant padded stick (Paul Jones of New England Spahtens discusses this further in his article “Gladiators for Hire“)

Regardless, change is sad but change is often good, and I think in this instance, it is good for the ultimate goal, which will only further the sport of obstacle course racing. Do the Gladiators make the entire Spartan Race experience? No…

But I sure will miss the gut checks at the end of the race.

Farewell, Gladiators. Thanks for the memories…and occasionally knocking the wind out of me.

__________________________________________________________________

Spartan racers past, present or future, what are your thoughts on getting rid of the gladiators?

Celebrate the memory of the Gladiator! Submit your favorite Gladiator picture (heathergannoe at gmail.com) and I’ll post it below with a link to your race recap, if you have one!

I really, really miss the Gladiators. Every point you make about them being the “last battle” is right. It was disappointing when I’d get a late heat, come through and just get tapped half-hearted. There is a thrill that wells up inside us when pitted against another human being, a primal instinct that is rarely awakened in our groomed society. For that fleeting second, the reptilian brain stem is stimulated and given freedom to send the signals to dump those unique and intoxicating endorphins that change your perspective, widen your eyes and make you feel alive.

Not to mention, it was pure fun. Isn’t that what “sport” is actually supposed to be about?

Olympic sports are frequently modified to be… Olympic. Boxing is a great example, they use sensors and clickers to count how many times the gloves make contact. With anything. Doesn’t matter if it was a good solid punch to the jaw or a glancing blow off the forearm, it counts the same. Does that imply that the scoring in amateur and professional prize fighting makes it non-viable as an Olympic sport? Clearly not.

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Meet Heather

I'm Heather, mom of two, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, and an overzealous athlete who cannot focus on a single discipline, so I train for all of them at the same time. When in doubt, I run...and then write about it. Read More…

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